Privacy policy

Version 2.3 · Last updated 11 October 2026

1. Who we are

VouchTrader is a trading name of Techno Help Ltd. We are the controller of the personal data described in this policy, which means we decide how and why it is used. We have not appointed a data protection officer, as we are not required to; for any privacy question email support@vouchtrader.com.

2. What we collect

From Facebook, when you sign in

We ask Facebook only for the public_profile and email permissions and receive:

• an ID that is unique to VouchTrader (not your main Facebook profile ID);
• your first and last name;
• a link to your current profile picture;
• your email address, if you allow Facebook to share it. We use it only to pre-fill the sign-up form and stop storing it once you confirm an email address with us.

We do not receive your password, friends, posts, messages, groups or likes, and we never post to Facebook for you. Your name and picture are refreshed from Facebook each time you sign in.

From you

• the email address you confirm with us;
• your confirmation that you are 18 or over and agree to our sign-up statement, and your acknowledgement that profiles may be reviewed, paused or removed (we record when you did this and which version);
• reports you make about a profile or vouch (the reason and any details you give);
• vouches you give, including any comment you write;
• vouch requests you send, including the recipient's email address and your optional message;
• deals you record or confirm (the other trader, the date and an optional description).

To have an account you must give us your Facebook sign-in details, a confirmed email address and your 18+ confirmation; without these we can't provide the service. Comments, messages and deal descriptions are optional. Please don't include sensitive information or other people's personal details in them.

From other people

• When another trader vouches for you or records a deal with you, we receive your name and the vouch or deal details from them.
• When a user sends you a vouch request, they give us your email address (see section 5).

From our safety and moderation work

• reports other users make about your profile or vouches (we never tell you who made a report, and never tell them the outcome in detail);
• if you make a report: your name, what you reported, the details you gave and your confirmation that you reported in good faith — kept with the case;
• your account status (for example under review, paused or removed), the case our team opens when reviewing an account, the internal notes they write, and a record of each decision;
• if your profile is paused and we ask you for information, our questions and the replies you send on your review page (or by email), and when you first viewed our questions;
• if a Facebook account is blocked from signing up again (after a removal, or while a review finishes if an account is deleted during one), a scrambled (hashed) version of its Facebook ID, the date, a general reason and a link to the case;
• if someone tries to sign in with a blocked Facebook account, the name Facebook gives us, the time, and the reference code we show them.

Collected automatically

• when you joined and when you last signed in;
• a record of the emails we send (with addresses partly hidden) and limited technical information our hosting provider may log to keep the service secure and working.

We don't use analytics or advertising tools and we don't build profiles of your browsing.

3. What is shown publicly

VouchTrader exists to show a trader's reputation, so your profile page is public. It can appear in our site search and in search engines such as Google. It shows:

• your name and profile picture (also used in link previews when someone shares your profile);
• the month and year you joined;
• the vouches you have received — each voucher's name, picture, how they know you (e.g. "Bought from them"), comment and date. If a voucher chooses "Other", only the word "Other" is shown: what they typed is seen only by our team;
• how many vouches you have given;
• your confirmed deals — the other trader's name and the date.

When you vouch for someone, your name, picture, comment and the date appear on their profile. Your profile's web address is based on your name when you joined. Your email address is never shown publicly. Deal descriptions (and any comment the other trader adds when confirming or declining) are only shown to the two traders involved (including in the email asking the other trader to confirm). Profile pictures are loaded from Facebook's servers, so Meta may receive basic technical information (such as an IP address) from people viewing a profile. Search engines may keep copies of public pages for a while after we change or remove them; we can help you ask them to update their copies.

You agree to this public display when you sign up. If a vouch or deal about you is false or inappropriate, email us and we'll review it.

If a profile is paused during a review, it stays visible but its vouches and deal history are hidden behind a neutral notice that doesn't say why. Vouches given by a paused trader also stop counting on other profiles until the review ends. A removed profile simply shows as unavailable. We never publicly label anyone or give a reason. Internal review notes and reports are never shown publicly.

4. How we use your data and why

Data protection law requires a lawful basis for each use of personal data. Ours are:

We use data from Facebook only to sign you in, show your public profile, send you service emails and keep VouchTrader secure. We don't send marketing emails, show adverts, or sell or rent your data. We don't make decisions about you based solely on automated processing; any decision to remove content or suspend an account is made by a person.

5. If you got a vouch request but don't use VouchTrader

A VouchTrader user gave us your email address and asked us to send you a vouch request. We hold your email address, the requester's name and their message, and use them only to send that request and let you respond (legitimate interests). We delete them 30 days after the request ends (when it is answered, cancelled or expires). You don't have to do anything. To stop all future vouch requests, open the link in the email and choose “Don't email me again” — we then keep only a scrambled (hashed) version of your address so we can block further requests, and remove your address from any requests. You can also email support@vouchtrader.com. You have the same rights as everyone else under section 10.

6. Who we share data with

We use a small number of trusted service providers who process data only on our instructions and under contract:

• Cloud hosting provider — runs our website and stores our database in UK data centres;
• Email service provider — delivers our service emails.

Meta Platforms provides Facebook Login. Meta acts as a separate controller for the data it processes when you use Facebook — see Meta's privacy policy.

A small number of authorised VouchTrader staff can see account details, reports and account history when needed for support, safety and legal reasons. Every action they take on an account is recorded. We may also disclose information if the law requires it, or to protect the rights and safety of our users. If VouchTrader is sold or reorganised, data may transfer to the new owner under this policy. You can ask us which specific providers we use.

7. International transfers

Our database and website are hosted in the UK. Some providers may access or process data outside the UK — for example Meta, or a provider's support team. Where that happens, the transfer is protected by UK-approved safeguards such as UK adequacy regulations (including the UK–US “data bridge”) or the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or Addendum.

8. How long we keep data

• Your account, profile, vouches and deals — until you delete your account.
• When you delete your account — we delete your profile, the vouches you gave and received, your vouch requests and your deals. Vouches you gave disappear from other traders' profiles, and deals with you disappear from theirs.
• Withdrawn vouches — deleted immediately.
• Unfinished sign-ups (email address never confirmed) — deleted 30 days after the last sign-in.
• Vouch requests, including the recipient's email address and the message — deleted 30 days after the request is answered, cancelled or expires. Request links expire after 30 days; shareable vouch links after 12 months.
• Declined or cancelled deals — deleted after 30 days.
• Unconfirmed deals (the other trader never confirmed or declined) — deleted 90 days after they were recorded.
• Reports and review cases (including the reporter's name, the report details, our notes, the questions we ask a paused trader and their replies) — kept while the case is open, then deleted 2 years after it's closed. They're kept even if either account is deleted, so we can deal with disputes and repeat problems.
• Records of our team's decisions (the moderation log) — kept for 2 years.
• Removed accounts — hidden immediately and kept for 6 months in case the decision is looked at again (if it's reversed, everything is restored), then deleted.
• Sign-up blocks — only the scrambled (hashed) Facebook ID, the date, a general reason and a link to the case. Kept until we lift the block (you can ask us to); we review each block at least every 2 years and lift it if it's no longer needed. A lifted block is kept, marked as lifted, for 2 years.
• Blocked sign-in attempts (name from Facebook, time and reference code) — deleted after 30 days.
• Email confirmation links — expire after 24 hours; the unconfirmed address is then removed within a day or so.
• “Don't email me again” requests — we keep a hashed version of the address for as long as we operate, so we can keep honouring it.
• Backups — our hosting provider keeps encrypted database backups for a short period (normally 7 days), after which deleted data is gone from them too.
• Technical logs — kept only for a short period unless needed to investigate abuse or a security problem.

9. Cookies

We only use cookies that are strictly necessary for the site to work, so we don't need to ask for your consent. We do not use analytics, advertising or tracking cookies.

• Sign-in — keeps you signed in until you sign out or close your browser.
• Security — protects your account and our forms from misuse, and secures the Facebook sign-in process.
• Messages — briefly remembers one-off confirmations such as “Vouch request sent”.

You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings, but you won't be able to sign in without them.

10. Your rights

Under UK data protection law you have the right to:

• access a copy of your personal data;
• correct inaccurate data (your name and picture come from Facebook and update when you sign in);
• delete your data — you can do this yourself at any time (or ask us, if your account is paused or removed), see data deletion. If a Facebook account has been blocked from signing up again, we keep the minimal block record described in section 8 after deleting everything else, because we have an overriding legitimate interest in stopping the same account returning after a review. You can ask us to review it at any time;
• restrict how we use your data in some circumstances;
• data portability — receive the data you gave us in a commonly used format.

To use any of your rights, email support@vouchtrader.com. It's free. We may ask you to confirm your identity — for example by writing from the email address on your account. We normally respond within one month of receiving your request (and anything we need to confirm who you are); for complex or multiple requests we may extend this by up to two further months and will tell you if so.

11. Complaints

If you're unhappy with how we've handled your data, you can complain to us at support@vouchtrader.com. We will acknowledge your complaint within 30 days and let you know the outcome without undue delay. You also have the right to complain to the UK's data protection regulator, the Information Commission (which replaced the Information Commissioner's Office), at ico.org.uk.

12. Removing VouchTrader from Facebook

You can stop Facebook sharing data with us at any time in Facebook under Settings & privacy → Settings → Apps and websites. Removing the app there does not delete the data we already hold — to do that, delete your VouchTrader account or follow our data deletion instructions (Facebook also links to these when you remove the app).

13. Age

VouchTrader is for adults only. You must be 18 or over to create an account, and we ask you to confirm this when you sign up. If we learn that an account belongs to someone under 18, we will delete it.

14. Security

All traffic is encrypted with HTTPS, access to our systems is restricted, and email confirmation codes are stored in a protected (hashed) form. Emails are encrypted in transit where the receiving mail server supports it, but are not end-to-end encrypted. No system is perfectly secure, but we work hard to protect your data and will tell you and the regulator about a breach where the law requires.

15. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. We'll change the version and date at the top and, for significant changes, tell you by email or on the site. Previous versions are available on request.

16. Contact us

Email support@vouchtrader.com.